Ashwinder: Serpent amongst the flames
by dominantclaus
Summary: Madara and Orochimaru weren't the only ones to defect from Konoha. Hiding behind an innocent façade, he waits for the right moment and Konoha wouldn't even know what hit them. [COMPLETE; with a SEQUEL!]
1. Chapter 0

Prologue: The lost child.

**Orochimaru stared, and continued starting until his eyes hurt. He reminded himself to blink as he stared into a pair of pathetically large and watery, but not particularly intelligent cerulean eyes. Is that snot under the boy's nose? He'd at first sensed an insanely large wave of Chakra and next; he found himself unwillingly signed up to a staring contest, with a child. He willed himself to look away because despite what the general public seem to think of him, he was most definitely not a paedophile. But he couldn't, those eyes seemed to draw him in as the spoke volumes of whatever painful experience this small child has in his past. Orochimaru tried to smile; he really did. But somehow it didn't feel right as he forced the muscle on his face to move in a… unfamiliar direction. AS he struggled to manoeuvre his smile into what he assumed to be the right direction, his eyes finally noticed them, the cuts and bruises on the tanned skin of the petite child; an abused and most likely abandoned child? Now, he wouldn't be accused of kidnap if the child was already abandoned, will he? He reminded himself that this child may become valuable to him in the future as he knelt down to eye level with the boy, who has yet to show any signs of fear towards him.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: _Patience, the key to success._

One amethyst eye cracked open while the other was a bit more… reluctant. The blonde yawned as he stretched from finger tips to toes, a brow twitched as he heard someone approach him from behind.

"Naruto!" said boy's ear twitched, having not expecting the loudness.

"Iruka sensei." He drawled as he twisted his body to face the approaching man.

"Don't 'Iruka sensei' me," The man practically growled out. He was surprised it came out as words, and not simply; a growl. "Why are you not in not in my class but lounging up here in the sun?"Iruka sighed when Naruto simply replied with a one shoulder shrug, "The next genin test is coming up soon, you better pass this one; or you'll be left behind and prove everyone who thinks badly of you right… Can't have that now, can we? Are you listening to me…?" Naruto inwardly sighed as he tuned out his teacher and glanced up at the sky, he liked the gentle blue sky today. It reminded him of how his own used to be. But even the clearest of blue could become tainted, and he was no exception. His mind then switched gears wondering off to the memory of the lack of ramen on his pantry from this morning. Being the 'monster' in the village; it was the only obtainable food he could manage, the ramen left wouldn't be nearly enough to last tonight's dinner… and tomorrow's breakfast.

"I'll see you around, Iruka sensei. Gotta run." He made a move to jump of the roof when Iruka stopped him.

"Ramen at Ichiraku tonight, Naruto." Amethyst eyes glanced back and a blonde brow rose mockingly.

"Trying to bribe me into going to your classes?" Iruka grinned sheepishly,

"The way to your heart is through your stomach." He gave a hopeful eyebrow raise. "Did it work?" Naruto returned the grin.

"No." his grin grew as he saw Iruka stick out his bottom lip into a little disappointed pout. "But I'll take you up on your offer anyway. Tonight. You're paying, since you offered." He added as he disappeared into the crowd on the street, leaving Iruka laughing on the rooftop.

Murmurs filled the streets as he walked through it; weary eyes on him, watching his every move. Bodies tensed and alert, he could practically _feel_ the hatred pouring off them. When he was younger, he'd had no idea as to why this hatred was directed at him. It wasn't until… well, later that he found out why. Yet he continued to fail to understand why he was the one at fault, so he'd learn to ignore them, of course, that didn't mean it doesn't hurt. One would think that after 12 years of living in the same village, the fear would slowly diminish, if not disappear. Naruto never chanced on it however, he'd tried to keep his distance, from everyone, at first; but before he knew it, he'd found that Iruka had somehow slipped through his barriers. His presence became something… _important_ to him. For either of him. While he thoroughly enjoyed his presence and the constant bantering they have, he also found it easier to keep up this facade of his. Though, he couldn't help but wonder sometimes. How would Iruka react if he found out everything? Would he reject Naruto, just like everyone else did? Surprisingly, he'd realized that somewhere in him, he _wanted_ that to happen; because he knew it would make everything so much easier. But he also was reluctant to let Iruka find out, hell… He felt like he'd do almost anything in order to keep Iruka oblivious forever, almost.

"Take this and get the hell out." The shopkeeper; he never found it relevant to remember his name, or anyone else's besides the absolute necessary ones; grounded out through teeth. He looked at Naruto like he was some dirt beneath the sole of his shoes; unworthy of his time. Inside, he wanted to gouge out his eyes and throw them back at him; eager to make him regret treating him like so. He felt something hum pleasantly inside him, and sometimes, he found he didn't really care whatever the hell it was; he _welcomed_ it at the moment. It made him feel… alive, if that's the right word. Like it agreed with him, he knew Iruka would never.

"_Remember the first character that which describes our very existence, Naruto."_ That same scratchy voice repeated itself for what seemed like the thousandth time, _"To endure. A successful ninja endures whatever comes their way, and they wait for the right moment to deal that deadly blow. Yes,"_ The voice had chuckled darkly here, _"Much like a snake."_ Naruto breathed out, successfully calming himself in the process before a smile spread across his face.

"Soon…" He told himself.

**Orochimaru smiled at the news brought to him by his spy, glad to hear that the boy finally found the motivation to follow the plan. Seriously, what is he to do with the boy? He'd assumed that the icky closeness with that boy Iruka would sway his still naïve mind. If it had, then all he'd done for the… plan, of course it was for the plan- would be for naught. He leaned back against the thick padding of his comfortable chair; his smile still locked in place.**

"**Soon…" He said in a sing-song voice. Eerie silence was his only answer. **


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter two: _Empty worries._

Sakura waited impatiently for their new teacher that was assigned to lead them as genin ninjas. It had been over three hours and said teacher was still nowhere to be seen! Having the need to do something, she'd tried catching the dark haired boy's eyes; twirling her hair between her fingers, she even tried talking to the boy. But Sasuke had ignored her while giving her the bare minimum replies whenever she asked a question, she settled back down on her seat and huffed out a breath; annoyed. She had been thrilled as she was announced to be on Sasuke's team, and not so much when Naruto's name was announced next. She understood the need to balance out the team's… capabilities. But teaming the best student and the worst? She shook her head at the bizarre logic. She risked a glance at the blond boy sitting at the very edge of the classroom, resting his chin on the meat of his palm; staring at her. Annoyingly, she found herself blushing at the attention. His amethyst eyes shone in the sunlight, like a pair of precious gems. Those eyes were what kept the girls interested in him, and embarrassingly; herself included, as they seem to hold many secret untold. Yes, it was something quite similar with the aura Sasuke seems to give off. The only difference was, including her; all the girls avoided him. No one approaches him, the dead last, no-good loser. It was an absolute mystery as to how he even managed to pass the genin test. She blinked in surprise when she finally noticed how she had stopped peeking and is now blatantly staring across the room, straight into those mesmerizing eyes. She turned away from them and found herself growing warmer as she continued to feel the other's attention on her.

_You're in love with Sasuke._

She repeatedly told herself.

_You're in love with- Oh! He's finally here!_ Sakura almost jumped up in glee, not wanting to miss this moment. She was saving up the jumping up part for later…

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Naruto didn't know whether to laugh or pity the poor pink haired girl, Sakura as she struggled to grab the attention of the dark haired boy, Sasuke. He felt a smirk threatening to betray him as he refused to pay the slightest attention to her. He'd always found it amusing as girls tend to… flock around him. Much like those noisy bees would when around honey, he realized. Her eyes, he'd noticed, would occasionally turn its attention onto _him_. And he watched with endless amusement, when they did, in fact, peek at him. He resisted a smirk when it soon turned into an outright, bold stare. He wondered if it was possible to turn stupid just by staring back at her. Was stupidity contagious? Naruto stopped himself before he could do a full body shudder when he noticed the girl blush from his attention. He had not, in fact, missed the staring of the other girls. The quite, muffled giggles they give off after a few excited whisperings. Disgusting. He'd of course, smiled back, pleased when their faces turned to an ugly red and tried to go back to ignoring him. Turning away from the girl, he went back to waiting for that pig of a teacher to arrive and was pleasantly glad when he did as he was just moments away from leaving the room himself. And _oh!_ How he _regretted_ putting that duster on top of the door! Imagine the trouble he'd get into! Because he _cared_ so much about his already in ruins reputation! He watched in _utter_ dismay as said duster fell smack bam on top of the teacher's head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sensei!" Sakura jumped up, acting shocked when he knew as much as she did, that she had _thoroughly_ enjoyed that. Talk about being two-faced, not that he could accuse her of being one. "I tried to tell Naruto, but he just wouldn't listen!" Naruto tilted his head innocently, well, as innocently as he could manage seeing as his chin was still rested upon his palm.

"I'm sorry too, sensei." He drawled out in a bored voice, trying not to snicker as Sakura turned and gaped at him. "But in my defence, I set that up about 5 minutes ago; which, if I recall correctly, was your third hour late." He smiled sweetly at the adult who, has yet to show a trace of emotion; through his eyes as his face was hidden behind a mask. "You can hardly blame me for being bored; I'm a _child_ after all." Then there it was, it was just a flicker but it had been there. Annoyance. Naruto considered this; mission accomplished.

**Orochimaru idly fiddled with his thumb, ignoring the pile of paperwork in front of him.**

"**Orochimaru-sama?" One of his ninjas spoke up, "Is something the matter?" His slit eyes moved to the man who spoke, it took a moment to find the right answer as his mind struggled to catch up.**

"**No." He managed, though perhaps it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself that, rather than the other. "Nothing is wrong." And he hoped it stayed that way, he thought as he made a move to drink the already gone cold tea.**

"**If it's Naruto you're worried about," Another spoke up, "I'm sure he's fine." The rest struggled to maintain a straight face as Orochimaru spluttered indignantly.**

"**I am not-"**

"**Of course, Orochimaru-sama." The man gave a deep, polite bow. "How could I have been so foolish? Forgive my impudence." He finished before leaving the room to finish his duties.**

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I love Ramen. I hate the 3 minutes wait for the Ramen to become edible, which is why I also hate Ramen."

"Your dream?" Kakashi drawled out, Naruto gave an apathetic one shoulder shrug in response. Kakashi raised a brow but didn't press on, "Okay, ne-"

"How can you love _and_ hate ramen at the same time?" Sakura questioned, obviously decided that it went against logic to love and hate something at the same time.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea." Was his only reply.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was just what he wanted, an incompetent teacher. He was not surprised at how low Naruto's pranks could sink to, but he was thoroughly surprised at how it actually _worked _and how _well!_ Hell, with this man as their team leader, he just as well might let Naruto teach him pranks instead; seeing at how well it actually worked against a _jounin_. Of course he won't admit this out loud; he'd never live it down! He wondered if Naruto would join in his plan to inconspicuously kill Sakura, hide her dead body and mark her as M.I.A as the girl was beginning to seriously annoy him. He thought it was a good and genius idea. After all, he was, in fact, a genius.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The boy was… different. To what he had imagined. He couldn't really say whether it's a good different, or a bad different. It was just those eyes, but something else about him that caught his attention and he couldn't quite put his finger on it; and it certainly wasn't that prank played on him before this. Kakashi made a silent vow to figure this boy out. He was, as a well-known fact, a genius after all.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter three: A 'pleasant' surprise

"Team 7, pass." Kakashi bit out; the red metre rising higher as sandaime raised an amused brow but thankfully, he moved on without a word. Memories flooded back to him in vengeance.

_He watched in silent victory as annoyance flickered on all three faces of his genin team. It wasn't he fault he was late, it really wasn't. How could it be when his eyes refused to leave his favourite book and his hands refused to let it go? As soon as he announced the beginning of the test, to his outmost pleasure; both Sakura and Sasuke had successfully hidden themselves, just… not very well. He might add that it was no surprise to see the dead-last student still standing in front of him. Hands in his pockets and looking bored. He raised a brow,_

"_Not going to hide like your teammates?" Naruto raised a brow back at him, _

"_No." He simply answered. They stood there in awkward silence and Kakashi wondered if the other was going to attack at all. He noticed the boy glancing about, as if… as if analyzing the place; places to hide in order to conceal oneself, for example. Then he saw Naruto give an ever so subtle one should shrug, if he wasn't already looking for any signs of movement; he would've missed it. Then Naruto charged forward, to an untrained eye; it would seem as if the boy was simply charging forward like a complete idiot. But Kakashi knew better. This boy was fast. Pulling out a shuriken with one hand, he flung it to the other only to find out the boy had used a substitution. He glanced about, failing to detect the boy. He looked behind him, above, left, right and below but nowhere to be… A pair of amethyst eyes stared back, directly in front of him. Oh. __**Oh**__. How could he be so… A boy had the decency to grin at him. Oh, he was going to get him back for this._

Kakashi slipped his favourite book into his pouch as he walked down the streets as the memories continued.

_Kakashi hide beneath the bushes waiting for the foolish boy to fall for his trap, surely he would. He was an idiot, after all. He watched the boy approach the bell on the floor, and continued standing there. He was just… simply staring at the bell, as if to contemplate on whether or not to fall for the trap. It couldn't be. It was a flawless trap for an incompetent. It was that same shrug again before he watched the boy literally __**walk**__ into the trap. Kakashi's only visible eye narrowed as he took in the scene before him, replaying it over and over as his mind started to slowly analyze everything about the boy now hanging literally, by the foot._

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Naruto opened the door and made a mocking gesture of disgust as a wrinkled face greeted him.

"Very funny, Naruto." A voiced drawled, insulted.

"Sorry old man, but your face isn't exactly everyone wants to see first thing in the morning." He grinned as he stood to the side to let the elderly man in.

"I thought the first thing you see in the mornings were ramen." Sandaime pulled his hokage hat down and handed Naruto a fully stuffed bag.

"N-o-t exactly the best thing in the world either." Naruto returned, absently accepting the bag and leading the hokage into his room. "What did you get me, old man?" The smile that appeared on the other's face made Naruto immediately check the items inside the bag. His mouth almost dropped open at the contents,

"_More _ramen?" Naruto glanced up at the man in disbelief, said man made a gesture for the boy to continue searching its contents. His eyes widened at what was hidden beneath the bag of ridiculous amount of ramen. It was a set of new clothing. Not orange. But the subtle black that every ninja should be wearing and it doesn't end there. The undershirt of the set was purple, dark purple; matching along with the bands of the pouch. Along with the set, was a pair of custom made gloves with only the thumb and index fingerless. As he slowly pulled them out one by one, an ugly green greeted him next. It was a crudely made _green_ frog pyjamas, with a matching green frog wallet. Naruto looked up at the sandaime, his eyes pleading that this was _not_ what he thought it was. The sandaime's chin jutted up,

"I made them."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Omake:

**Orochimaru was not sulking, he just wasn't. **

"**Something seems to be bothering you, Orochimaru-sama." A man noted as he entered the room and laid down Orochimaru's next set of paperwork, "What seems to be the matter?"**

"**Kabuto." Orochimaru mumbled against the meat of his palm,**

"**Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" **

"**Is my role in this story diminishing by the chapter?" As Kabuto finished piling the paperwork he smiled at Orochimaru,**

"**You think too much, Orochimaru-sama." He adjusted his round glasses; eyes hidden behind the glare of them, "'**_**Soon**_**'…" **


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter four: First impressions

That incompetent teacher got himself trapped.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Haku waited patiently by the bedside; staring down where Zabuza-san laid. It had been a… surprising outcome of the fight, and if anything; an unexpected one.

"Zabuza-san…"

"Stop staring." There was a twitch from one corner of his lips, threatening to break out into a smile.

"Yes, Zabuza-san."

_Haku watched from afar, careful not to make the slightest noise; he wouldn't want to draw attention to him. He'd come to check on why Zabuza-san had been taking a while to return from his trip, but he'd come to find out that Zabuza had an unexpected run-in with their target and apparently deemed it necessary to taunt his poor bodyguards. They had initially planned on going with assassination, carried out by Haku himself. Though, it seems as though that plan had been either forgotten; or simply, ignored. He guessed the latter. His attention went to the trapped adult and his three… students, he assumed. After all, they were far too young to wander off by themselves. From what Haku observed, while the dark haired boy seemed to be more… competent than the other two; he thought the blond boy seemed to have had… more experience. He didn't know exactly what gave the boy away, it was just a feeling. Haku continued to stare at the boy, observing how while the dark haired boy subtly twitched with every little move Zabuza-san made, the blond did not. In fact, the boy looked like… like he didn't care what happened, one way or the other. He saw the two muttering something together, discussing their plans; he realized. Despite appearances; it seemed like blond boy had one._

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sasuke stood near the corner, staring at their incompetent teacher with bored eyes. On the other side, stood Sakura. She looked uneasy, whether it was from the current situation they're in, or whether she was feeling conflicted inside. Sasuke resisted a smirk. He'd not missed the look she gave Naruto when he first arrived at their usual meet-up spot this morning, nor did he miss the flush on her face. He understood why, oh of course he did. Even _he_ stared for a while. Out of shock, of course. Rather than the hideous orange he always wore; Naruto was wearing black. Purple here and there. It matched his eye colour, and he looked… adequate... for a ninja. He noticed Sakura had not been staring at him as much; to which he didn't know whether or not to be happy about this… change. He supposed he was glad. But he also knew deep down, that despite this change in Naruto; Sakura would never outright admit interest in the other.

Sasuke, whom have only disliked the other because of his incompetence, never understood why others disliked…or rather; detested him. He didn't care either way, but it was still a curious thought. But after the fight earlier, he found he started to observe the other more often than he liked to admit. His eyes subtly lay upon the tanned skin of the other's collarbone, and slowly up to his face; Naruto looked… bored and completely unfazed by the situation. His eyes were staring out the window, and his arms crossed on his chest; leaning against the frame of the door in a composed manner.

_He stared at Naruto as he grabbed whatever from his pouch and absently chucked it at the mist nin; that was trapping that incompetent teacher of team 7. He was about to open his mouth to ask why was he wasting shurikens on the guy when they both knew that it wouldn't work on the other, when he noticed what Naruto had been doing all along._

A pair of amethyst eyes glanced back and stared into his own black orbs, a blond brow raised in question. Sasuke simply looked away.

_He couldn't believe it, had they won? Sure, the trick Naruto pulled off had managed to free their teacher. But even then, their teacher had been exhausted from overuse of the Sharingan to be able to pull this off. And sure, the one who dealt the last blow weren't any of them. But they had been close. And this… guy… He didn't trust him, and he could tell by Naruto's frown that he didn't either. Sakura just seemed relieved everything was over and he could never tell what Kakashi is thinking so he never bothered to observe him. _

And here they were, waiting for Kakashi to wake up from his injuries; having passed out almost as soon as the hunter nin left with Zabuza.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Her eyes followed the blond as he announced to take guard outside and scout about for a while, he hooked a piece of loose blond hair behind his ear as he made his way out; stopping her heart for a mere second but was enough to cause her heart to… _No, no, no… Bad Sakura._ Sure, she had been shocked to see Naruto this morning; or rather yesterday morning now. Dressed in mostly black, rather than orange. And it wasn't the usual oversized, baggy fit either. This was… tight fitting. Hugging his body in all the right places. She didn't miss how the black made his blond hair and amethyst eyes stand out either, his hair was tied back and some too short to be tied back would fall out and he would have to hook them back behind his ears; making the gesture… nice. Her eyes slid back to where Sasuke was standing, his eyes weren't staring her way, but at the door where Naruto had left a few moments ago. Of course they weren't on her, they never have. And perhaps, she began to think; never will be…

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Haku walked through the forest, collecting whatever herbs he found that would hasten the recovery of Zabuza-san. He was becoming impatient. Haku stopped short when yellow caught his attention, and he recognized it almost immediately. It was that blond from before. Lounging on the soft green grass, under the sun.

"Hey." The blond called out suddenly, his eyes still closed; he noticed. "Wanna join me? The morning sun feels nice. Less harsh." The boy added. Sighing, he walked over and sat down next to the boy.

"What are you doing here alone, boy?" He pitched up his voice a little to sound different,

"I'm always alone." A simple answer.

"Where are you friends?"

"Friend." The boy corrected and one eye popped open. Haku noticed immediately, the brilliant colour of purple. "I have a friend; and someone similar to a guardian. He gave me green frog pyjamas." Haku raised a brow and chuckled, the boy seemed to have trouble sticking to one topic.

"Sounds like a nice guardian." The boy shrugged, "Is he, and that friend of yours important to you?" This time, both amethyst eyes were on him; his brow narrowed inwards from whatever emotion those eyes were holding, he couldn't tell.

"I don't want them to be." This surprised Haku, it was an unexpected reply.

"Why not?" Then, Haku found he was no longer staring into the boy's eyes; as he looked away and faced a specific direction. Away from the village he should be staying at, Haku noted. His eyes seemed… distant.

"I don't want them to be." The boy simply repeated.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sakura huffed out, irritated. She wondered if lateness were contagious as they waited for Naruto to return. What happened to guarding the place? Scouting? Was he lost in the forest?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

They were learning how to climb trees. He'd seen his brother do it a few times to know that Kakashi didn't literally ask them to 'climb' the tree, but rather it was to 'walk' up a tree. He fell down for what seemed like the hundredth time and huffed out irritably. Sakura had already finished and it was just Naruto and himself left. How could that be? Does this mean he was at the same level as this no-good loser? No, that can't be. Facing the trunk again, he concentrated on sending his chakra to the sole of his feet before charging at the tree. He'd gotten a bit further, but not much. Naruto seemed to be having the same amount of progress of him; which irritated him. He was beginning to think that the idiot was doing it on purp… That can't be. He was _the_ dead last loser. Sasuke shook his head, laughing internally at himself for even having the thought; dismissing it soon after.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Kakashi stayed a while longer, observing the struggle of the two boys. Sasuke has done most of the fighting, but it was Naruto who managed to turn the tables, it seemed. Of course, normally he'd immediately assume the idea was by Sasuke; but right now, he honestly didn't know anymore. He turned away to join Sakura back at the village with a feeling that he had missed something important; failing to put a finger onto whatever it is that irked him.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sasuke glared at the blond opposite him, exhausted. They had finished about the time; he was a bit faster of course. But why did it seem like he was more worn out than the other? Was it his imagination? It had to be.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Naruto stared into the night sky and wondered;

"What's for dinner tonight?"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sakura stood back proud,

"Hope they like it!"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

_Kakashi walked into the dining room, having heard the boys made their way back, only to find them collapsed onto the floor. And promptly left without a word._


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Voodoo doll.

Finally able to take a break from all the paperwork Kabuto relentlessly continued to stack up on his desk, Orochimaru rested back on his chair; turning his chair to face outside. Why did he sign up for such a troublesome job again? Oh, yeah; to build up a strong enough empire in order to rule the shinobi world. It had always been for the very reason… right? Orochimaru shook his head; having the need to clear his mind up. It was unlike him to doubt himself. He never had, he won't now; nor will he in the future. However, his mind seemed to always be contradicting himself; ever since he met _that_ boy.

_The boy just stared back and just as he was about to question the boy's intelligence, he spoke up. _

"_You smell funny." The boy said instead. Orochimaru felt his brow twitch as he continued to stare back at the boy, wondering how he should reply to such statement. The boy's brow furrowed in concentration as he sniffed again; nose twitching. "Yes. Just like the bags my neighbours put out weekly." He added unnecessarily with a nod of his puny head. It took _great_ effort for Orochimaru to maintain the 'smile' on his face, maybe he could look for another vessel and just kill this impudent brat off. While he was contemplating with himself, there was an annoying tug at his sleeve. He glanced back into the amethyst eyes and raised a brow; not trusting himself to speak. "Who are you, mister?" A good question; Orochimaru raised the second brow approvingly. He titled his head as he thought about his answer to the boy's question, _

"_I'm… a ninja." He replied, simply. _

"_A ninja?" The boy eyes widened, taking on a new light and Orochimaru had a b-a-d feeling about this. "Prove it." The impudent brat folded his short arms across his chest; failing horribly at the attempt of looking indifferent. _

"_**Kage bushin no Jutsu!**__" He noticed that there was a sudden urge to chuckle as the boy adopted a face that suited the I.Q Orochimaru assumed he had; his mouth dropped open, gaping like a fish out of the water; eyes wide, but rather than looking like a dead fish should be, it was bright and impressed. Orochimaru felt a twinge of what felt sickly like pride as he watched this. He wondered why he decided to show such a high level technique, when all he could have done was a simple bushin, or a henge. Quickly dismissing the absurd thought of wanting to please the child he asked his un-answered question again. "Where are your parents, child?" The smile quickly disappearing, the child went back to frowning. He shook his head. The same thing he'd done when he asked the question the first time, but this time; this time, he answered._

"_I don't have any." Orochimaru cocked his head to one side, _

"_Guardians, then?"_

"_Does coming to visit once every month count?" The child asked, with sick sincerity. "The old man only visits to give me my pocket money to last me the month and some food and clothing." Old man? The sandaime, he assumed. His mind turning quickly, analyzing his next possible moves. _

"_O-kay." He said slowly, "Are you hungry?" An angry growl from the stomach answered his question, "Come." Orochimaru stood up, "I'll get you something to eat." When the boy followed without queries, he found himself smirking. Now what is he to do what this child?_

"Orochimaru sama." A voice surprised him, quickly interrupting his thoughts. Annoyed, he turned to face the intruder as his eyes narrowed at the other. Said other merely raised an amused brow, seeming unaffected by his glare.

"Of course," He replied before Orochimaru could say anything as he gave a deep bow, "My most sincere apologies at the _sudden_ entrance, my lord." If eyes could flash red, Orochimaru swore he would have pulled it off in this instance at the other's sarcastic apology. A smile formed on the other's lips and he straightened up again,

"You are due for a meeting in 5 minutes, Orochimaru sama. I trust that you have not forgotten?" Orochimaru gave a mental groan, he hated those meeting. Tedious and it took a ridiculous amount of time to come to a mutual conclusion, maybe he should just kill those old wrinkled faces off and just decide everything by himself. As he wordlessly walked out his room, he found himself thinking that Naruto wouldn't like it if he had decided to carry that thought out.

_The boy, Naruto, he'd later learnt of the child's name; titled his head and sniffed the object in front of him. Orochimaru raised a brow, did the boy not like what he got him? It may not have been difficult, but he _had_ gone out his way to go hunt a rabbit for the boy. _

"_What is this, mister?" _

"_Food." Orochimaru had the urge to just tell the kid what it actually was, but he had a feeling the boy might not appreciate his honesty. The boy obviously needed something other than the ramen he'd been told that the child were only having on a daily basis. He needed some meat as he much too small, even by his standards. If the boy was going to be his vessel in the future, he needed to eat healthier. The boy looked up at him, a tinge of suspicion in his eyes but thankfully, started eating. _

"_It tastes weird." A muffled comment came out of that ungrateful mouth, even as Orochimaru watched the boy literally try to stuff the whole thing in his mouth._

"_Slower, child." Orochimaru scolded. "I can always get more, and it is unbecoming to eat in such vulgar manner." Naruto swallowed and gave him a look that told him he didn't understand why he needed to eat in a proper manner in the middle of the forest, but complied anyway. Seriously, what is going to do with this child?_

Orochimaru cursed as he stumbled onto something hard as soon as he walked through the door of his bedroom; glad to have dismissed Kabuto's escort to his room. Glancing down at whatever soon-to-be destroyed blasted object he'd tripped on; a small smile unwittingly formed on his lips.

"_Alright, come at me whenever you are ready, child." Said child crossed his arms angrily,_

"_I'm not a child." His bottom lip stuck up, _

"_Yes." Orochimaru replied, bored. "I can see that. Now, are you ready to begin? Or do you prefer having dinner late?"_

"_What's for dinner?" The boy asked immediately, if he had dog, or rather, fox ears; they would have perked up at the word 'dinner'. _

"_I was thinking of fried frogs if you're going to make me wait any longer than this." Orochimaru drawled. The boy made a disgusted face,_

"_Why frogs?" _

"_An… acquaintance suddenly sprung to mind. Never mind me." He waved a dismissive hand as the boy still made no move to attack, he raised a brow. "You really want fried frogs for dinner?" When the child started making a horribly familiar hand sign, Orochimaru was a tad late in his attempt to stop him._

"_**Oiroke no Jutsu!**__" There was a sputtering noise from behind, but Orochimaru ignored it and continued to stare at the blond… blonde in front of him with bored and unimpressed eyes. _

"_How many times must I say that this does _not _work on me?" Though, he duly noted, if he had used this in front of that perverted old man… "And Kabuto, shouldn't you be preparing dinner?"_

"_Yes." Came the nose-y reply. "Excuse me." He turned back to the… blonde and raised a brow. _

"_Naruto." He began with a sigh,_

"_I know!" Said boy suddenly exclaimed. "I wanted to save this for later, but I thought better. You better be prepared, Orochimaru!" Instinctively, Orochimaru tensed. Having known Naruto for… a while, he knew by experience, that new justus by Naruto were mostly useless… Or deadly; in a way that would make one want to kill themselves at the stupidity of it. With a puff of smoke, Naruto… Naruko disappeared and what now stood in front of him was a tall dark haired, and naked; he later noticed, male. Orochimaru couldn't help but ask; an amused brow quirked upwards._

"_Why a male, Naruto?" The boy… man shrugged as he gave a very Naruto grin. _

"_I've noticed, though they tend to disappear after a while; that you like to take in dark haired males. So I thought… Maybe the reason why my jutsu doesn't work on you is because… maybe you don't like females?" The brat had the decency to blush at that comment. Orochimaru rubbed his temples, his eyes closing in the process as he took deep breaths to calm himself. _

"_Naruto…"_

"_You don't like it?"_

"_Of course no-" At one look of Naruto's face made Orochimaru swallow back his words, he decided to rephrase. "I appreciate the effort, Naruto. But let me tell you that that is _definitely_ not the reason why your jutsu doesn't work on me." He sighed, Naruto bit his lower lip as the silence between them stretched. He sighed. "Let us have dinner. The training session can continue after that." He doesn't want to admit it, but he'd rather go on a deadly mission than train Naruto. Then, there was a tug on his sleeve, "What is it, Naruto?" He turned to ask, except; it wasn't Naruto he saw. But a… mysterious wooden object. "What is _this_?" He frowned._

"_A present. I made it." Naruto added with a grin. _

"_Why?" Orochimaru asked as he took in the object, careful in the process in case it was one of his usual pranks. _

"_You forgot?" The boy pouted._

"_I didn't forget. I just haven't remembered what it is you're talking about yet."_

"_That's the same thing!" _

"_No, it's not." Orochimaru told the boy, slowly. "It's me." The boy frowned, not convinced. _

"_Today's the same day you fed me for the first time in this forest." Now Orochimaru realized _why_ he didn't remember. Like he had the space in his head to remember this? He wondered if the boy remembered how _he _commented how he smelt like garbage._

"_Of course." Orochimaru dismissed and glanced back at the object. "What is this?" He asked again._

"_It's a voodoo doll." Naruto grinned, already forgetting his little tantrum. Brats were so easy to deal with. Or rather, Orochimaru realized, only _Naruto_ could be this easy to deal with. "This is you." Orochimaru frowned._

"_Naruto." He knelt down to eye level with Naruto, trying not to seem too… upset. "Who told you about voodoo dolls, and do you understand the _concept_ of voodoo dolls?"_

"_I can't say who." There was that stubborn frown that Orochimaru knew so well. "But he told me that if you make a voodoo doll then whatever you do, the other will feel it as well." _

"_O-ka-y" Orochimaru's brows narrowed inwards, confused. There were no lies there but… "And what do you do with it?" He was afraid to know the answer, but it was a question that needed to be answered. The boy looked like he didn't want to say, and there was a slight pinkness to his tanned cheeks and Orochimaru swallowed as he watched the boy stare back into his eyes. The child grinned, embarrassed._

"_I hug it to sleep." _

_He had someone to kill. _


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter six: Home.

One pair of bored eyes slid back towards the tall figure sitting behind his desk, there was another one of those sighs. Kabuto wondered just what it was that bothered Orochimaru sama. He had noticed these sighs had been a lot more frequent recently; these sighs had started ever since Orochimaru sama met _him. _

_Kabuto wondered if it was rude to stare so blatantly at the pair of beautiful amethyst orbs that were just as blatantly staring back. He took a moment to glance up at Orochimaru; who, seemed to have adopted a just as troubled frown on his face as he held the boy awkwardly in his hands, his arms stretched out; as if trying to keep the boy as far from him as possible. These observations made Kabuto want to smile; he'd never seen Orochimaru at a loss, ever. Amused; Kabuto held out his own hands; accepting the child; who, stretched out his short arms as well with a suspicious giggle. _

"_Orochimaru sama…" _

"_Don't." Orochimaru spat out, "Just… don't." He frowned, but as he took a closer look at Orochimaru's awkward features; the urge to smile was there again, Kabuto had to bite the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from getting himself killed. _

"_Of course, Orochimaru sama." Kabuto managed out as he hid his unwilling smile by giving a deep bow; the boy still in his hands. Orochimaru glowered, obviously catching on his amusement before he turned and, never had Kabuto witnessed before, seemed to rush out of the room. _

"_Hey." The boy patted his cheek to get his attention; Kabuto looked down at the boy in his hands; as if just remembering his existence. _

"_Yes?" _

"_I need to pee pee."_

Honestly, Kabuto shook his head at the memory; surely a child of his age at that time could at least _know_ how to keep his own bladder in? Shuddering for the last time, Kabuto knocked the door to Orochimaru sama's room. No answer. Strange.

Kabuto knocked again; and again. Still, there was no answer. Orochimaru sama seemed to be in his own thoughts, again. And there was no doubt that he was remembering his times with Naruto. Kabuto didn't know whether or not to… _like_ this change that was happening with Orochimaru sama. But one thing was certain; _Naruto_ had been the trigger.

"Orochimaru sama."

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"_Itachi san." One brilliant red eye popped opened to glance down from the branch, the dark haired male was on to the blue figure, he glowered at the male who dared to disturb his rest, _and _in a sing-song voice._

"_Someone had best be dying, Kisame." Said male merely gave him a grin that showed a majority of his much too disturbing sharp teeth, _

"_We're being summoned." Itachi keep his features impassive as he mentally gave a groan; it was not the meetings he so detested, rather it was the thought of being on the receiving end of those… disturbing glances Orochimaru had been giving him for a while. "Think that kid will be there?" An elegant brow rose uncharacteristically, Kisame had been quite taken with the small child Orochimaru had brought to one of their meetings. They immediately became best buddies the moment the child stumbled in; having tripped on the steps of the stairs which was evidently much too wide for his short legs. _

_Itachi hopped off without deeming the question an answer. It was all the better if the child was there, Itachi found himself unwittingly thinking; then Orochimaru would be too distracted to give him those disconcerting looks._

"_Let us go."_

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Naruto woke up with a start when he sensed an intruder in his home, carefully rising from his bed without making a noise; he quietly made his way to where the intruder was, absently grabbing a kunai off his bedside drawer. With smooth, swift movements; he threw it at the silhouette, the blade cutting through the air with effortless speed. He didn't quite see what happened but he heard it being caught, instantly on guard; he prepared himself for battle.

"_Calm_, child." A familiar voice stopped Naruto in his tracks to charge at the intruder with a ridiculous war cry he'd just come up with, in hopes of either catching the intruder off guard or cause the intruder to laugh so hard it'd kill him.

"Orochimaru?" Naruto gaped like an idiot as the 'intruder' walked towards him, showing his face as he stepped into the moon lit room. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"_Language_, child." Orochimaru took one long look at him before breaking into a smirk, "Nice pyjamas."

"Shut up." Naruto blushed despite himself and folded his arms across his chest, sitting down on the chair he'd prepared to throw at him. He watched a familiar amused brow rise,

"Please tell me you weren't thinking of throwing that chair at who you thought was an intruder, Naruto." Said boy jutted his chin up, half glad that Orochimaru had finally decided to drop calling him a child.

"Oh, of course not." Naruto gave a sarcastic reply, "It's here so I can invite who I thought was an intruder here to off me, a seat while I prepare tea." The amused eyebrow raise was still there, but a confused frown was now present.

"You don't drink tea."

"Water then."

"You give you guests' tap water?"

"Oh, I don't know." Naruto continued, "Excuse me for being a brilliant host, seeing how I have visitors _all_ the time." Orochimaru chuckled but deemed answering his sarcastic remarks too bothersome as he walked around his apartment, making thoughtful noises from his throat once in a while and occasionally a disapproving sound when he found food weeks after its expiry date lying around the place. "Are you done?"

"Not quite." Naruto groaned, a few seconds ticked by when he suddenly jumped up from his seat. "Why _are _you here? The sandaime would find out!" Orochimaru shot an incredulous look his way, but otherwise gave no reply to Naruto's sudden outburst. Naruto ran into his room, tugging the sleeves of Orochimaru's shirt,

"Calm down, Naruto. I've set up an illusion in this apartment, to others; you are sleeping in this ridiculous excuse for being a bed, bed." The tension somewhat relaxed from Naruto as he let out a shaky breath.

"So answer my question, old man." Golden slit eyes turned his way as the other observed him, and instead of telling him off for calling him an old man, the older nin merely frowned. "You've lost weight again. It has not been that long since my last visit."

"Yeah." Naruto gave a shaky laugh, still tense from the thought of Orochimaru in his apartment. "That was like, half a year ago? I may have lost some baby fat." The other merely raised a brow, telling the boy he was not convinced but let it slide anyway.

"Clean up this place, child."

"I said-"

"And I will stop, when you stop _behaving_ like one." Orochimaru turned to face him, "You will not attend the chunin this year." The snake nin suddenly said.

"What?" Orochimaru released a tired sigh.

"Did you damage your ears, child?" Orochimaru questioned, and Naruto spluttered for a moment; his mind not catching up with the conversion. Did he pass out and miss a chunk of the conversation?

"What? No!"

"Perhaps, you are suffering from a case of brain malfunction?"

"Wha-! No! Why- what are you going _on_ about?" Orochimaru sighed,

"Then I presume that you had no problem hearing me the first time, and it's _excuse me_." Naruto's mouth hung open, then closed before he opened them again; but closing them again as words failed to form.

"What- That- You did _not_ just correct my language. And why the hell can't I attend the chunin exams? And is that food you have there?" There was a brief silence as the two just stared at each other before Orochimaru gave a 'are you an idiot' frown.

"Listen, Naruto and really do _listen._" The words were said slowly, as if Orochimaru had gone back to how he spoke to him the first day he'd found him; he'd obviously decided to not comment of Naruto's inability to concentrate on one topic at a time. "I have business to do, and it requires me going in a disguise and to attend the exam myself."

He waited for Naruto to slowly process the words, and at Naruto's nod; he continued. "I do not wish for you to be there when I execute my plan as I am 100% sure you'd blow it up in smithereens." Orochimaru paused to take in a breath, deliberately ignoring Naruto's pout. "And if my plan succeeds, you won't have to go through an exam in order to become a chunin. I lead the sound nins, remember? I'll have you registered as a chunin when we return to the sound village. You won't have to return to this ridiculous excuse of a village that has given you nothing but horrible memories; you have a home back at the sound village, Naruto. A home you can call your own…"

_A home_.

Instincts told him that this may be another one of Orochimaru's manipulations. He'd seen him do this to others. In order to get what he wanted, Orochimaru could promise them the moon and never go through with it. But this was what Naruto had thought was a dream that would never come true. And here it was; an offer and Orochimaru had said he _belonged_ somewhere.

Something that seemed impossible to obtain a while back was now within arms' reach. Yet, why did he feel so conflicted?


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter seven: When your best weapon becomes your nemesis.

No matter how many times he recalled the battle. Kiba just couldn't believe it; he'd lost to the dead last loser.

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Sakura supposed he wasn't surprised anymore. Naruto was, after all; _the_ No.1 most unexpected ninja.

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He watched from where he sat at the Hokage seat, Naruto had won by using a rather unexpected method, and if anything; vulgar.

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Orochimaru-in-disguise sat next to the Sandaime, his features hidden behind the mask of the hat. He didn't know whether to laugh or feel insulted. That all his effort in training the foolish boy ended just like that.

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Kurenai pitied the boy.

_I guess Kiba's superior sense of smell became his downfall._

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_N-Naruto kun…_

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Author's note:

Late but; I do not own Naruto. This is AU but following canon; at least for now.

No pairing as of yet.

Uploads may become… irregular; will try to prevent that from happening.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Purpose of this Author's note; to fill up space

I'm kidding; no seriously. No, there's nothing Ron with me, I'm really Sirius.

I lie; I'm dominantclaus. Please, the pleasure is _all_ mine.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter eight: Untold secret

As Naruto made his way back up to where his team waited, his eyes moved to the Kazekage; who is actually Orochimaru in disguise, he noticed that _his_ eyes were also on him before they slowly slid to the general direction of the sandaime and Naruto's eyes narrowed warningly.

"_Don't harm the sandaime." _

Naruto had told the snake nin.

"_I need him gone."_

"_No."_

"_He let those disgusting villagers hurt you, Naruto. He__** knows**__ what happens in the village, yet he had done __**nothing**__ to stop them from doing harm to you. Why do you still defend him?"_

This had caught Naruto off guard; there had been so _much_ anger and hate in those words that Naruto wondered if this really was Orochimaru in front of him.

"_He doesn't __**care**__, Naruto." _Orochimaru continued as he saw doubt flicker in those lost eyes._ "If he did, did you think you and I would have __**ever**__ met? Would he have let a __**child**__ wonder into the forest on his own, and not do anything to stop you?"_

Naruto didn't have anything to say, because he knew that somewhere back in his mind; he'd asked himself the exact same question. He'd wondered about this as well. Everything Orochimaru had said had been true...

"_Come to me, Naruto. I can give you what he couldn't. Leave this horrible village with me when I accomplish my plans here."_

There was no way Naruto could have missed the sincerity that seem to shine in the slit eyes of Orochimaru. For whatever the reason that Orochimaru so wanted him to go to the oto village, the thought that someone _needed_ him made him happy.

"_I promised to be part of your village, Orochimaru, and I won't go back on my words. But…"_

"_But… what, Naruto? But you don't want to see Konoha destroyed? Remember, child; this was what __**you**__ wanted. I am merely aiding you as we have a common goal."_

"_I know, I __**know**__. I still want to make those who hurt me regret the way they treated me. But not ev-"_

"_You will see, child. I will prove it to you, that anyone you thought that cared for you; were faking it all along."_

Breaking eye contact, Naruto silently stopped beside Sakura.

"Naruto?" Instead of answering, Naruto merely casted a sideway glance at the pink haired girl. "No, nothing." She shook her head before going back to watching the next match.

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Sakura shuffled nervously, her impression on Naruto had improved; vastly, in fact; despite his fight with Kiba just now. But she'd promised Sasuke, that she wouldn't tell. She knew that but… Her common sense is telling her otherwise. Naruto _needed_ to know this.

"_What's the code, Naruto?" Sasuke asked the blond standing tall on one of the thicker branches of the tree, she couldn't blame him; after encountering a fake Naruto, one can never be too careful. _

"_If you think I'm going to waste time remembering that ridiculously long code of yours, Sasuke; you've got-" Naruto had stopped there, seeing the relieved look on both of his teammates. _

"_Yup," Sakura laughed shakily, "That's Naruto, alright."_

Things had gone downhill from there. And Sakura didn't think she want to think about it any longer.

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_His eyes watched as Sasuke reach into his pouch for the scroll; a wise decision. When one is facing another that overwhelms his own strength, submission is one way. Though, by the look on Sasuke's eyes; this was no submission. But it is a wise decision, nonetheless. Whatever the boy is planning; he'd be prepared for it. What he wasn't prepared for; was the foolish blond child to intercept. _

"_What the hell are you thinking, Sasuke. Have you gone mad, or did your intelligence suddenly shrink to the point of idiocy?" _

"_Don't get in the way, Naruto!" Orochimaru stayed back and watched the two. An interesting relationship Naruto had managed to develop with his target. He was enjoying their little… quarrel up until Naruto's words backfired to him._

"_Do you have __**any**__ idea who you were giving __**this**__ to? He has no need for this! He's-"_

_Then there was silence._

_Blissful silence. _

"_D-Did you just knock Naruto unconscious?" The pink haired girl questioned nervously, the twitch on her lip suggested that she was either fighting a scream or a laugh. _

_And hopefully, for his sake; that he __**stays**__ unconscious._

"_He __**was**__ getting a bit noisy." Sasuke answered for him, instead. Damn, he was beginning to like this boy; he found himself thinking as he bit back a smirk. He flung Naruto to the side to where he'd fall on top of one of his waiting snakes; when that foolish girl decided to catch his fall with a kunai. Well, he supposed it wasn't a bad thing after all. The boy wanted to attend the chunin exams, and if she had not stopped his fall; he snake would have taken Naruto back to the Oto village and he knew fully how well that would go once Naruto wakes up. Slowly, he turned back to Sasuke. Thanks to that foolish child, he plans had been delayed. But no matter, everything is still at hand._

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_Seriously_, Naruto thought to himself; _a cat fight could have even been more interesting…_ He stretched and rested his chin on the meat of his palm, the fight against Sakura and Ino had ended with a draw. He wasn't interested in any other fights besides Sasuke's, and that was already over. Speaking of which, where _is_ that guy?

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"_Sakura." _

"_S-Sasuke-kun?" _

"_Who did this to you? Tell me."_

"_Sasuke-ku-"_

"_Is it them?"_

"_Sasuke-kun!"_

Sakura woke up, and when she did; she did with a start. Frightening memories haunted her. She had no idea, that she'd be _afraid _of Sasuke one day.

"You're awake, Sakura." Hearing her name, she turned to see Ino; lying beside her looking just as tired as she is feeling.

"Yeah." She quietly replied.

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**OMAKE:**

**It's time for… Let's ask Orochimaru sensei!**

"**Sensei, Orochimaru sensei." A dark haired boy walked up to the other, stopping just a metre away.**

"**Yes, Sasuke kun?" Orochimaru stopped whatever he was doing and glanced up at the boy, even when sitting down; the boy was barely taller than him.**

"**I'd like some advice." Sasuke's chin jutted up slightly, Orochimaru found himself smiling; he didn't hate this boy's confidence. However, something was bothering the small child.**

"**I'll see if I can help." He gestured the boy to go ahead.**

"**Is…" Sasuke swallowed and started again, "Is there a way to cease all this ridiculous fan girling?" An amused brow raised and for a moment; Orochimaru had to swallow down a chuckle. **

"**Well, **_**well…**_** Sasuke kun." Sasuke swallowed as he took in the dubious smirk on his sensei, "I have **_**just**_** the method for you." Orochimaru said as he leaned in closer to whisper in the child's ear.**

**Sasuke walked out of the classroom and if anything, were looking a bit… traumatized. **

"**Sasuke kun!" Said boy cringed at the high pitched familiar voice of Haruno Sakura. "What's wrong? You don't look so good…" The pink haired girl commented. Sasuke took in a deep breath and reluctantly turned to face Sakura. **

"**Sakura…" The girl tilted her head to the side and blinked as Sasuke closed in; a blush soon apparent. "You have such beautiful eyes." He forced a smile and watched as a small pink blush rapidly became red in a matter of seconds. **

"**T-thank you Sas-"**

"**They'd look so good in my collection." **

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Forgive me; this scene haunted me in my dreams. I had to. I just _had_ to.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter nine: Punctuality.

Shit, he's late again.

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Sasuke finally appeared. That idiot.

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Sasuke looked up to where Naruto was standing; looking at him like he would with Kakashi when he's late. He mentally scoffed; please, he wasn't _that_ late. But looking at that idiot's grin, he'd wager on that he's won his match against Neiji. Ever since the incident with Zabuza and Haku; Sasuke found that he had developed an unhealthy obsession with figuring out whether or not Naruto is really who he seems. Especially now, after the encounter with Orochimaru. They seemed as if they… _knew_ each other. Of course, they hadn't said or done anything that suggested that they were _close_. But Sasuke felt that he wasn't wrong with the assumption that they knew each other.

His eyes then flickered to Sakura, who looked even more tired than he last saw her. Worry evident in her eyes, and he took a moment to stare longer into her eyes; as a warning. The frown on her face suggested that she'd caught on. One thing with dealing with smarter people was that they caught on quickly.

"_Sasuke kun," Sakura called out to him just after he'd warned her not to tell anything to Naruto and he turned back to face her. "I can promise to not tell Naruto, but can you also promise me something?"_

_He gave a slight, hesitant nod._

"_What is it?"_

"_To always remember the meaning behind the test Kakashi sensei gave us."_

Sasuke broke their eye contact to focus of what was happening in front of him, but he found that he couldn't. Those words struck him like none other. He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled before exhaling out again. Of course he remembered. Teamwork.

"_So tell me…" Sakura folded her arms across her chest and sighed, "How did you manage to get yourself tied to the post again?" The boy grinned, eyes blinking up at her innocently._

"_I may have decided to steal the lunch that happened to be lying innocently here."_

"_And you got yourself caught." Sakura finished for him. Sasuke sighed, Kakashi left them saying that if anyone fed this incompetent fool; he'd fail them. He couldn't risk failing, but…_

"_Don't worry about me." Naruto shrugged, or tried to. "I had food."_

"_You weren't supposed to!" Sakura hissed quietly, glancing around anxiously in case Kakashi was nearby before turning back to Naruto. "Don't you __**ever**__ listen?"_

"_When have I?" He replied back, Sasuke raised a brow. Touché. _

"_While you may have a point," Sasuke began as he picked up his food, "Kakashi said he'll give us another chance, this time; we're going to work together." Naruto raised a surprised brow; mouth opened slightly in shock. "Well, we obviously can't go against him by ourselves. Anyone with a bit of common sense would do this. But we won't be able to succeed if you go hungry, you incompetent fool." Instead of the usual angry response, Naruto simply grinned. _

"_You're going to have to feed me, as you can see…" As if to prove his point; Naruto wriggled his tied hands. Sasuke felt his brow twitch, _

"_You-"_

"_Or I can just __**starve**__ and drag us all down." Naruto continued, not even trying to conceal his amusement. Hand aching to grab the closest thing to hit the insolent idiot; his jaw tightened as he picked up a spoon taking up a spoonful of the rice from the lunch box. He watched in fascination as a disappointed frown formed on Naruto's lips as he passed the spoon to Sakura. _

"_What? You want __**me**__ to feed __**him**__, Sasuke kun?"_

"_Would you rather __**I**__ feed__** him**__?" He asked back. Sakura considered this and started feeding Naruto after a shiver. _

"_YOU THREE!"_

"Sasuke." Kakashi's voiced reached him drawing his attention to the taller man.

"What?"

"I want you to look away from Naruto and to your opponent if you can."

"What? I wasn't looking at-" He turned back to where he _was_ staring only to find that he was, but he remembered clearly he had looked _away…_

"Fight now; romance later." Sasuke kicked Kakashi, hard.

"Would the lot of you just _drop_ that?" A chuckle escaped Kakashi,

"Sorry. But I think no one could." Sasuke mentally groaned as memories flooded back to him; memories he wanted to just grab from his mind and throw them into the flames.

"_Sasuke! Naruto! What happened?" Still in pain, Sasuke forced one eye to open. Realizing that he was in Naruto's arms he tried to move away; a bit mistake, his whole body hurt. _

"_Haku…" Sasuke managed, man his throat was dry. _

"_Dead." Naruto answered, though it was a barely a whisper. If he weren't so close; he'd have missed it. _

"_You…?"_

"_No." Naruto shook his head, he had tears in his eyes. "He took a hit for Zabuza from Kakashi sensei." Sensing that Naruto was in no mood to continue, he just nodded._

"_Naruto, explain." He'd heard Kakashi ask, he wanted to; but his mouth refused to open to speak. _

"_Sasuke, he…" Naruto paused, "He protected me…" There was this choking noise, Sasuke wanted interject. The pain of Haku dying was probably still too new for Naruto, but all concern for the blond died down as Naruto continued. "I had no idea he cared so much for me…"_

_Wait… What?_

"_Perhaps that was why he never showed any interest with the fan girls." Kakashi unnecessarily pitched in, amusement evident in his voice. _

_That's not- Oh these guys are going to __**get**__ it!_

The memory earned Naruto a malicious glare from Sasuke to which Naruto simply responded with a grin before mouthing the words from above where he was standing; arms resting carelessly on the rails as he leaned forward for emphasis.

"I love you too, Sasuke."

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Orochimaru noticed the staring between Sasuke and Naruto… Did he want to find out what that was about? He considered this and decided against it. Maybe he didn't; and when he read the words Naruto mouthed out exaggeratedly, he found out that he _really_ didn't want to find out.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Goodbye

Both misery and hurt evident in those amethyst eyes of the boy; his shinobi, before they were turned away from him. The Sandaime watched with utter helplessness as he could do nothing but watch the small retreating back of Uzumaki Naruto; who left him with all but one word before disappearing into the shadows. The Sandaime closed his eyes painfully as the wind carried Naruto's departing word to his tired ears; resonating within his mind, making him realize for the first time in years, just how powerless he truly was.

"I've failed you," The Sandaime whispered gravely as he glanced up at the Hokage monument, "Minato."

"_Goodbye."_

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Author's note:

Woohoo!

It's complete!

But fear not, minions. There will be a sequel.

Keep an eye out on it. Heads up for you?

I'm not that nice.

But I shall grace upon you; the honour of taking a glimpse of the title.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sequel to Ashwinder: the serpent amongst the flames; Ashwinder; hiding from the flames.


	12. SEQUEL IS UP!

Behold my minions! The first chapter is up for the sequel to Ashwinder: serpent amongst the flames!

I figured I might as well answer a few reviews? I don't usually do this; author's notes will also be rare. Just not my style you see?

To **BlackShadesofRed**; I have implied if not out rightly depicted that Orochimaru does care for Naruto. Though I have made it so that he used whatever excuse he could come up with to hide that fact; he's not very good at it though. Or that I'm not good at making up excuses. (Excuses just ain't my thing, you know? Excuses are for the good and pure.)

To **daniel 29**; thanks for the reminder. Completely forgot. Reminder appreciated.

To **Tough chick**; turn that frown upside-down my minion! The sequel is up!

To**bunnyguest; **the _very_ reason why I decided to reply the review this way, as I cannot reply you through fanfiction. (Word is telling me that previous line is grammatically wrong; but I'm just going to ignore it.) For your review you made in chapters 6 and 9; it is a pleasure to see you enjoyed it. As for chapter 11; like I said, I won't apologize for ending the fic this way and I don't regret ending it like that. Short chapters are my style; my imagination for each chapter varies and is limited. If you ask me to come up with gag scenes I'm your best friend. Also? I don't do suspense, not on purpose anyway; I do what I want to do. And thanks for the suggestion; I edited my summary marking it as complete if the states below the sum does not make it obvious enough. Suggestion; appreciated.

Like I said;

I refuse to apologize for the abrupt ending of the story nor will I apologize for the short chapters. The short chapters are my style; and it will continue in the future updates. The abrupt ending is also due to my 'flashback' writing style; so you _will_ experience time skips _a lot_ if you do continue reading. It's a new style for me, and I am _still_ trying to get used to it.

Stay tuned. More is coming up. Let me hear your thoughts and opinions. I know I have horrible grammar; working on it. But if there's anything else that's bothering you so much; I'm used to being criticized so I won't feel any less manly if you add to that as well. Feel free to review; if not just the knowledge that I have readers is content enough for me.

Well? What are you doing still here when the chapter for the sequel is already up? Does my ego amuse you so much you'd continue to read this? Seriously, there's nothing important here anymore.

Still reading? Here, let me give you a hand. (Not literally, of course.)

s/10143192/1/Ashwinder-Hiding-from-the-flames


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